Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
by MidnightEmberMisery
Summary: "Cassie, I know we've never really talked much, but…I think you seem interesting. So I was wondering if maybe…I mean, it was just an idea, but maybe…you and I could…go out sometime?"


Everybody on the Team knew about the history between M'gann and Conner. It was impossible for anyone to not know. Every time he was around her, he became more sullen and moody – if that was even possible – and would try to leave as soon as possible. Every time she was around him, and La'gaan was present, she and her current boyfriend became more cutesy and mushy – if that was even possible – and would only dial the love factor down to slightly-more-than-tolerable only when Conner had left. And if neither of those things tipped someone off, then the fact that Nightwing rarely (if ever) put them together on a squad, even though they were original Team members and so should be able to easily work together, was probably a big clue.

Once upon a time, Miss Martian and Superboy had been involved romantically. Then, something had happened, and they were no longer together. The Martian was not over him, and Aquaman's new protégé was just the rebound guy. The clone was most certainly not over her and had not attempted a rebound. These were undeniable truths that all Team members knew.

So it was quite confusing when, on an average Saturday morning in the summer, Conner awkwardly approached the gaggle of females that was hanging around in the living room of the Team's new headquarters. The girls just sort of stared at the hero as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. And so the slightly arduous task of breaking the silence fell upon the shoulders of the almost-always-blunt Batgirl.

"Conner, did you need something from us?" the red-head asked, trying to lave her voice with a tone of concern in order to hide her amusement. Even though she'd been trained extensively by Batman, there were still some moments when almost all of her training flew out of the window. This happened to be one of those times, unfortunately.

"I…um…I…" Conner wasn't entirely sure how to phrase this, so he decided to just dive right in. That tactic seemed to work well enough for Nightwing. "CassieIwaswonderingifmaybeyoudliketogooutwithmeso metime." _Conner. Too fast. She's not Bart, for goodness sake._

_What did he just say? _All any of them had really heard was Cassie's name, which caused the blonde girl to tilt her head in confusion. She and Conner had never really had a conversation, so what could he possibly want from her? "Um…what did you say?"

Conner took a deep breath. _Time to try again. _"Cassie, I know we've never really talked much, but…I think you seem interesting. So I was wondering if maybe…I mean, it was just an idea, but maybe…you and I could…go out sometime?" He could feel his cheeks reddening, and all he really wanted to do was run and hide. _Way to go, Conner. She's not going to want to go out with you, especially not now._

Well, whatever she had possibly expected to come out of the dark-haired boy's mouth, Cassie could honestly say that that was not at all on the list. _He wants…to go out…with me? _Her cheeks quickly turned crimson. _Is this a joke? Was he dared to do this? I bet it was Jaime. He likes to create mischief. When I find him, I swear…_

"Conner, you can go and tell Jaime that you've completed your dare," Cassie informed him, crossing her arms. Conner looked confused, and a bit…upset?

_She thinks that Jaime…why would she think that? _"Umm…Cassie…this wasn't a dare. I really…umm, it's just that I…" _Conner, spit it out already! _"Chocolate-covered strawberries!"

"What?"

Conner's cheeks went even more red. "Your favorite dessert is chocolate-covered strawberries, but you only buy them for special occasions. You like flowers and you have a garden, but you're allergic to roses. You like to read but you don't have a lot of time to, between school and hero-ing. Your favorite subject is English, and your least favorite is Math. Your favorite animal is a lion, your favorite color is purple, and you have a pet calico cat named Athena." Cassie's jaw had definitely dropped, as had the jaws of the rest of the girls, which only caused Conner's face to become tomato-red. He took a deep breath.

"What I'm trying to say with all this creepiness is that this was most definitely not a dare from Jaime. I know a lot of stuff about you because I'm interested in you and attracted to you and I'm not sure when this happened but the point is…I really would like to go out with you."

Cassie didn't know what to say. So she settled with, "Oh." All eyes were on her, and she felt like a car was slowly being dropped on her. _Conner, the Boy of Steel, wants to go out with me. With me! Is this even real life?_

"Conner…" He was extremely nervous. _She's going to reject me, I just know it. _"I would love to go out with you. Umm…does tonight work for you?"

His blue eyes were shining brightly, so different from the way they usually swam with sadness, that Cassie couldn't keep a smile from forming on her face. Eagerly, though he was clearly trying to sound as gruff as possible, Conner responded, "Tonight it is then."

Before Cassie could say anything else, he practically sprinted out of the room. And off in the distance, she could hear an excited, "She said yes!" Now grinning, Cassie turned back to her friends and teammates. _Well, I guess I have a date tonight._


End file.
